Short answers, pulled from the story.
Wootz ingots originated in Southern India where techniques first developed before shipping to Khorasan and Isfahan. These ingots were sold at the medieval city of Damascus which served as a commercial hub but no evidence exists for local crucible production within its walls.
Islamic scholars al-Kindi and al-Biruni wrote about these swords between 800 CE and 1048 CE based on their surface appearance or geographical location. Their writings described the flowing patterns visible on the blade surfaces using the Arabic root word damas meaning watered.
Research by Verhoeven, Peterson, and Baker found average tensile strength reached 1070 MPa while standard hot-rolled steel measured only 965 MPa. Tensile testing also showed yield strength at 740 MPa for the Damascus sword compared to 550 MPa for hot-rolled steel.
Production gradually declined ceasing by around 1900 with the last account documented in Sri Lanka by Coomaraswamy. Disruption of mining and steel manufacture by the British Raj contributed through production taxes and export bans which ended trade routes necessary for key trace impurities like tungsten or vanadium.
William F. Moran unveiled his Damascus knives at the Knifemakers Guild Show in 1973 introducing modern pattern welding techniques. To attain Master Smith rating with the American Bladesmith Society smiths must forge blades with a minimum of 300 layers.